Eric Buhler

De minimis Bitcoin tax exemptions are an oppressive trap. They don't advance Bitcoin's use as form of money. They ensnare every person using it as money deeper into the crosshairs of the IRS and increase the burden on taxpayers. You still have to track every single transaction. Every UTXO. Every Lightning payment. The threshold just changes what you owe — not whether you have to prove it. The compliance burden never goes away. --- The government handed you a smaller cage and called it freedom. $200 exemption? Great. Now track 10,000 coffee purchases, prove each one was under the limit, and document your basis on every spend. That's not relief. That's the same nightmare with a lower ceiling and increased cause for the IRS to open up an audit. --- There are only two worthy solutions worth discussing: 1/ Foreign currency treatment (IRC §988) — Bitcoin gets the same rules as euros. The IRS has to prove you gained above threshold. Burden flips to the government. 2/ True exclusion for Bitcoin used as a medium of exchange — not a deduction, not an exemption. A complete carve-out. Cash doesn't generate a taxable event. Neither should Bitcoin. Anything else is oppressive theater.

De minimis Bitcoin tax exemptions are an oppressive trap. They don't advance Bitcoin's use as form of money. They ensnare every person using it as money deeper into the crosshairs of the IRS and increase the burden on taxpayers. You still have to track every single transaction. Every UTXO. Every Lightning payment. The threshold just changes what you owe — not whether you have to prove it. The compliance burden never goes away. --- The government handed you a smaller cage and called it freedom. $200 exemption? Great. Now track 10,000 coffee purchases, prove each one was under the limit, and document your basis on every spend. That's not relief. That's the same nightmare with a lower ceiling and increased cause for the IRS to open up an audit. --- There are only two worthy solutions worth discussing: 1/ Foreign currency treatment (IRC §988) — Bitcoin gets the same rules as euros. The IRS has to prove you gained above threshold. Burden flips to the government. 2/ True exclusion for Bitcoin used as a medium of exchange — not a deduction, not an exemption. A complete carve-out. Cash doesn't generate a taxable event. Neither should Bitcoin. Anything else is oppressive theater.

0/ I'm going to give more practical advice for the average American who is not going to be a massive lobbyist. What you do really matters here, and is sometimes more influential than the large companies, because you are 100% a voter who cares.

De minimis Bitcoin tax exemptions are an oppressive trap. They don't advance Bitcoin's use as form of money. They ensnare every person using it as money deeper into the crosshairs of the IRS and increase the burden on taxpayers. You still have to track every single transaction. Every UTXO. Every Lightning payment. The threshold just changes what you owe — not whether you have to prove it. The compliance burden never goes away. --- The government handed you a smaller cage and called it freedom. $200 exemption? Great. Now track 10,000 coffee purchases, prove each one was under the limit, and document your basis on every spend. That's not relief. That's the same nightmare with a lower ceiling and increased cause for the IRS to open up an audit. --- There are only two worthy solutions worth discussing: 1/ Foreign currency treatment (IRC §988) — Bitcoin gets the same rules as euros. The IRS has to prove you gained above threshold. Burden flips to the government. 2/ True exclusion for Bitcoin used as a medium of exchange — not a deduction, not an exemption. A complete carve-out. Cash doesn't generate a taxable event. Neither should Bitcoin. Anything else is oppressive theater.

De minimis Bitcoin tax exemptions are an oppressive trap. They don't advance Bitcoin's use as form of money. They ensnare every person using it as money deeper into the crosshairs of the IRS and increase the burden on taxpayers. You still have to track every single transaction. Every UTXO. Every Lightning payment. The threshold just changes what you owe — not whether you have to prove it. The compliance burden never goes away. --- The government handed you a smaller cage and called it freedom. $200 exemption? Great. Now track 10,000 coffee purchases, prove each one was under the limit, and document your basis on every spend. That's not relief. That's the same nightmare with a lower ceiling and increased cause for the IRS to open up an audit. --- There are only two worthy solutions worth discussing: 1/ Foreign currency treatment (IRC §988) — Bitcoin gets the same rules as euros. The IRS has to prove you gained above threshold. Burden flips to the government. 2/ True exclusion for Bitcoin used as a medium of exchange — not a deduction, not an exemption. A complete carve-out. Cash doesn't generate a taxable event. Neither should Bitcoin. Anything else is oppressive theater.

De minimis Bitcoin tax exemptions are an oppressive trap. They don't advance Bitcoin's use as form of money. They ensnare every person using it as money deeper into the crosshairs of the IRS and increase the burden on taxpayers. You still have to track every single transaction. Every UTXO. Every Lightning payment. The threshold just changes what you owe — not whether you have to prove it. The compliance burden never goes away. --- The government handed you a smaller cage and called it freedom. $200 exemption? Great. Now track 10,000 coffee purchases, prove each one was under the limit, and document your basis on every spend. That's not relief. That's the same nightmare with a lower ceiling and increased cause for the IRS to open up an audit. --- There are only two worthy solutions worth discussing: 1/ Foreign currency treatment (IRC §988) — Bitcoin gets the same rules as euros. The IRS has to prove you gained above threshold. Burden flips to the government. 2/ True exclusion for Bitcoin used as a medium of exchange — not a deduction, not an exemption. A complete carve-out. Cash doesn't generate a taxable event. Neither should Bitcoin. Anything else is oppressive theater.

1. De minimis for Bitcoin is important to a huge, low propensity block of voters. Members of congress should support it. 2. Coinbase testified in support. 3. It's never been a part of the CLARITY Act but IS being discussed by tax committees. TLDR: Call your MoC to support it.

De minimis Bitcoin tax exemptions are an oppressive trap. They don't advance Bitcoin's use as form of money. They ensnare every person using it as money deeper into the crosshairs of the IRS and increase the burden on taxpayers. You still have to track every single transaction. Every UTXO. Every Lightning payment. The threshold just changes what you owe — not whether you have to prove it. The compliance burden never goes away. --- The government handed you a smaller cage and called it freedom. $200 exemption? Great. Now track 10,000 coffee purchases, prove each one was under the limit, and document your basis on every spend. That's not relief. That's the same nightmare with a lower ceiling and increased cause for the IRS to open up an audit. --- There are only two worthy solutions worth discussing: 1/ Foreign currency treatment (IRC §988) — Bitcoin gets the same rules as euros. The IRS has to prove you gained above threshold. Burden flips to the government. 2/ True exclusion for Bitcoin used as a medium of exchange — not a deduction, not an exemption. A complete carve-out. Cash doesn't generate a taxable event. Neither should Bitcoin. Anything else is oppressive theater.

WASHINGTON D.C. - Bitcoin Policy Institute releases the following brief on the latest legislative developments on a De Minimis exemption for Bitcoin transactions. We will continue to keep you informed as discussions develop.

De minimis Bitcoin tax exemptions are an oppressive trap. They don't advance Bitcoin's use as form of money. They ensnare every person using it as money deeper into the crosshairs of the IRS and increase the burden on taxpayers. You still have to track every single transaction. Every UTXO. Every Lightning payment. The threshold just changes what you owe — not whether you have to prove it. The compliance burden never goes away. --- The government handed you a smaller cage and called it freedom. $200 exemption? Great. Now track 10,000 coffee purchases, prove each one was under the limit, and document your basis on every spend. That's not relief. That's the same nightmare with a lower ceiling and increased cause for the IRS to open up an audit. --- There are only two worthy solutions worth discussing: 1/ Foreign currency treatment (IRC §988) — Bitcoin gets the same rules as euros. The IRS has to prove you gained above threshold. Burden flips to the government. 2/ True exclusion for Bitcoin used as a medium of exchange — not a deduction, not an exemption. A complete carve-out. Cash doesn't generate a taxable event. Neither should Bitcoin. Anything else is oppressive theater.

De minimis Bitcoin tax exemptions are an oppressive trap. They don't advance Bitcoin's use as form of money. They ensnare every person using it as money deeper into the crosshairs of the IRS and increase the burden on taxpayers. You still have to track every single transaction. Every UTXO. Every Lightning payment. The threshold just changes what you owe — not whether you have to prove it. The compliance burden never goes away. --- The government handed you a smaller cage and called it freedom. $200 exemption? Great. Now track 10,000 coffee purchases, prove each one was under the limit, and document your basis on every spend. That's not relief. That's the same nightmare with a lower ceiling and increased cause for the IRS to open up an audit. --- There are only two worthy solutions worth discussing: 1/ Foreign currency treatment (IRC §988) — Bitcoin gets the same rules as euros. The IRS has to prove you gained above threshold. Burden flips to the government. 2/ True exclusion for Bitcoin used as a medium of exchange — not a deduction, not an exemption. A complete carve-out. Cash doesn't generate a taxable event. Neither should Bitcoin. Anything else is oppressive theater.

The Bitcoin Policy Institute just released a new report on the Bitcoin de minimis tax exemption. Under current law, every bitcoin transaction triggers a capital gains calculation and IRS reporting obligation, no matter the size. A $4 coffee purchased with bitcoin that appreciated by six cents gets the same tax treatment as a six-figure asset sale. This has effectively killed bitcoin's use as a medium of exchange in the U.S. Congress solved this exact problem for foreign currency decades ago. Personal-use foreign currency gains under $200 are tax-exempt. Bitcoin users get no such relief. Senator Lummis filed a standalone bill proposing a $300 per-transaction threshold with a $5,000 annual cap. The Joint Committee on Taxation scored it as revenue-positive, generating $600 million over ten years. The White House backed it. Treasury Secretary Bessent offered to have his team work directly with Lummis on guidance. Then the direction shifted. After the GENIUS Act passed, a new bipartisan draft from Representatives Miller (R-OH) and Horsford (D-NV) narrowed the de minimis exemption to stablecoins only, excluding bitcoin entirely. Relief offered where it's least needed, withheld from the users facing the most punitive treatment. BPI has met with 19 congressional offices over the past three months pushing back. The response has been encouraging, with bipartisan agreement that the stablecoin-only approach is insufficient. The window is narrowing. Senator Lummis, the issue's strongest champion, departs the Senate in January 2027. If a package doesn't come together in the next few months, this opportunity may not return for years.

De minimis Bitcoin tax exemptions are an oppressive trap. They don't advance Bitcoin's use as form of money. They ensnare every person using it as money deeper into the crosshairs of the IRS and increase the burden on taxpayers. You still have to track every single transaction. Every UTXO. Every Lightning payment. The threshold just changes what you owe — not whether you have to prove it. The compliance burden never goes away. --- The government handed you a smaller cage and called it freedom. $200 exemption? Great. Now track 10,000 coffee purchases, prove each one was under the limit, and document your basis on every spend. That's not relief. That's the same nightmare with a lower ceiling and increased cause for the IRS to open up an audit. --- There are only two worthy solutions worth discussing: 1/ Foreign currency treatment (IRC §988) — Bitcoin gets the same rules as euros. The IRS has to prove you gained above threshold. Burden flips to the government. 2/ True exclusion for Bitcoin used as a medium of exchange — not a deduction, not an exemption. A complete carve-out. Cash doesn't generate a taxable event. Neither should Bitcoin. Anything else is oppressive theater.

De minimis Bitcoin tax exemptions are an oppressive trap. They don't advance Bitcoin's use as form of money. They ensnare every person using it as money deeper into the crosshairs of the IRS and increase the burden on taxpayers. You still have to track every single transaction. Every UTXO. Every Lightning payment. The threshold just changes what you owe — not whether you have to prove it. The compliance burden never goes away. --- The government handed you a smaller cage and called it freedom. $200 exemption? Great. Now track 10,000 coffee purchases, prove each one was under the limit, and document your basis on every spend. That's not relief. That's the same nightmare with a lower ceiling and increased cause for the IRS to open up an audit. --- There are only two worthy solutions worth discussing: 1/ Foreign currency treatment (IRC §988) — Bitcoin gets the same rules as euros. The IRS has to prove you gained above threshold. Burden flips to the government. 2/ True exclusion for Bitcoin used as a medium of exchange — not a deduction, not an exemption. A complete carve-out. Cash doesn't generate a taxable event. Neither should Bitcoin. Anything else is oppressive theater.

De minimis Bitcoin tax exemptions are an oppressive trap. They don't advance Bitcoin's use as form of money. They ensnare every person using it as money deeper into the crosshairs of the IRS and increase the burden on taxpayers. You still have to track every single transaction. Every UTXO. Every Lightning payment. The threshold just changes what you owe — not whether you have to prove it. The compliance burden never goes away. --- The government handed you a smaller cage and called it freedom. $200 exemption? Great. Now track 10,000 coffee purchases, prove each one was under the limit, and document your basis on every spend. That's not relief. That's the same nightmare with a lower ceiling and increased cause for the IRS to open up an audit. --- There are only two worthy solutions worth discussing: 1/ Foreign currency treatment (IRC §988) — Bitcoin gets the same rules as euros. The IRS has to prove you gained above threshold. Burden flips to the government. 2/ True exclusion for Bitcoin used as a medium of exchange — not a deduction, not an exemption. A complete carve-out. Cash doesn't generate a taxable event. Neither should Bitcoin. Anything else is oppressive theater.

De minimis Bitcoin tax exemptions are an oppressive trap. They don't advance Bitcoin's use as form of money. They ensnare every person using it as money deeper into the crosshairs of the IRS and increase the burden on taxpayers. You still have to track every single transaction. Every UTXO. Every Lightning payment. The threshold just changes what you owe — not whether you have to prove it. The compliance burden never goes away. --- The government handed you a smaller cage and called it freedom. $200 exemption? Great. Now track 10,000 coffee purchases, prove each one was under the limit, and document your basis on every spend. That's not relief. That's the same nightmare with a lower ceiling and increased cause for the IRS to open up an audit. --- There are only two worthy solutions worth discussing: 1/ Foreign currency treatment (IRC §988) — Bitcoin gets the same rules as euros. The IRS has to prove you gained above threshold. Burden flips to the government. 2/ True exclusion for Bitcoin used as a medium of exchange — not a deduction, not an exemption. A complete carve-out. Cash doesn't generate a taxable event. Neither should Bitcoin. Anything else is oppressive theater.

Coinbase is quietly lobbying to kill Bitcoin's de minimis tax exemption. The company reportedly told legislators that "no one is using Bitcoin as money" and that a Bitcoin de minimis exemption would be "DOA." Meanwhile, they're pushing for the exemption to apply only to stablecoins, specifically regulated, dollar-pegged stablecoins like USDC. Coinbase made $1.35 billion in stablecoin revenue in 2025, up 48% year over year, almost entirely from interest earned on U.S. Treasuries held in USDC reserves. Bloomberg estimates that number could surge 7x under the GENIUS Act. Every person who uses USDC for payments instead of Bitcoin is a person whose dollars are sitting in Coinbase's reserve pool generating risk-free yield for Coinbase. A de minimis exemption for Bitcoin would let people spend it freely for everyday purchases without triggering a taxable event. That makes Bitcoin a direct competitor to USDC as a payment method. Coinbase doesn't want that competition. They want you locked into their centralized stablecoin ecosystem where they clip yield on every dollar you park there. The irony is that a de minimis exemption doesn't even make sense for stablecoins. They're pegged to the dollar. They don't fluctuate in value. There's no capital gain to exempt. The exemption matters for Bitcoin precisely because it does fluctuate, and without it, every coffee purchase becomes a taxable event. Senator Lummis proposed a $300 de minimis exemption that would cover Bitcoin. The House framework only covers stablecoins under $200. The Bitcoin Policy Institute has already warned that Bitcoin is being deliberately excluded from these talks. A de minimis exemption that covers stablecoins but not Bitcoin isn't a tax framework. It's a subsidy for Coinbase's treasury management business disguised as consumer protection.

De minimis Bitcoin tax exemptions are an oppressive trap. They don't advance Bitcoin's use as form of money. They ensnare every person using it as money deeper into the crosshairs of the IRS and increase the burden on taxpayers. You still have to track every single transaction. Every UTXO. Every Lightning payment. The threshold just changes what you owe — not whether you have to prove it. The compliance burden never goes away. --- The government handed you a smaller cage and called it freedom. $200 exemption? Great. Now track 10,000 coffee purchases, prove each one was under the limit, and document your basis on every spend. That's not relief. That's the same nightmare with a lower ceiling and increased cause for the IRS to open up an audit. --- There are only two worthy solutions worth discussing: 1/ Foreign currency treatment (IRC §988) — Bitcoin gets the same rules as euros. The IRS has to prove you gained above threshold. Burden flips to the government. 2/ True exclusion for Bitcoin used as a medium of exchange — not a deduction, not an exemption. A complete carve-out. Cash doesn't generate a taxable event. Neither should Bitcoin. Anything else is oppressive theater.

WASHINGTON D.C. - Bitcoin Policy Institute releases the following brief on the latest legislative developments on a De Minimis exemption for Bitcoin transactions. We will continue to keep you informed as discussions develop.

De minimis Bitcoin tax exemptions are an oppressive trap. They don't advance Bitcoin's use as form of money. They ensnare every person using it as money deeper into the crosshairs of the IRS and increase the burden on taxpayers. You still have to track every single transaction. Every UTXO. Every Lightning payment. The threshold just changes what you owe — not whether you have to prove it. The compliance burden never goes away. --- The government handed you a smaller cage and called it freedom. $200 exemption? Great. Now track 10,000 coffee purchases, prove each one was under the limit, and document your basis on every spend. That's not relief. That's the same nightmare with a lower ceiling and increased cause for the IRS to open up an audit. --- There are only two worthy solutions worth discussing: 1/ Foreign currency treatment (IRC §988) — Bitcoin gets the same rules as euros. The IRS has to prove you gained above threshold. Burden flips to the government. 2/ True exclusion for Bitcoin used as a medium of exchange — not a deduction, not an exemption. A complete carve-out. Cash doesn't generate a taxable event. Neither should Bitcoin. Anything else is oppressive theater.